[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 25 (Wednesday, February 28, 2001)]
[House]
[Page H493]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




      INTRODUCTION OF H.R. 775, THE VOTING IMPROVEMENT ACT OF 2001

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from California (Mr. Horn) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. HORN. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to join today with our colleague, 
the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Hoyer), and others in introducing the 
Voting Improvement Act of 2001, H.R. 775, as we will call it.
  The past election produced a great deal of confusion, turmoil, and 
uncertainty. Although there were a number of factors in producing that 
confusion, one major factor in Florida and other States was the 
continuing use of outdated and even antiquated punch card voting 
systems.
  The bill we are introducing today tackles this problem immediately 
and directly by establishing a grant program for the States to replace 
all punch card systems before the next Federal election in 2002. In 
short, this bill provides a practical solution for solving some of the 
more troublesome voting equipment problems.
  As the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Hoyer) has noted in introducing 
the bill, punch card systems have the highest rate of error among all 
voting methods. One study by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology 
and the California Institute of Technology recently estimated that the 
nationwide error rate for punch cards is 2\1/2\ percent, and in a 
national election that would mean that nearly 1 million votes are 
thrown out and never counted due to mistakes caused by punch card 
systems. Clearly, we need to make replacements of these antiquated 
systems a very high priority.
  In addition to immediate equipment replacement, this bill establishes 
an ongoing grant program to assure that new voting systems are 
developed and deployed so that voters have up-to-date systems in the 
future.
  The bill also assures that voter education and training of poll 
workers are given increased attention and support, and H.R. 775 
establishes a permanent bipartisan commission to act as a nationwide 
resource for information gathering and studying the best practices for 
ballot design and other basic election needs.
  Mr. Speaker, the Voting Improvement Act is one of several proposals 
being introduced for overhauling our election laws and making certain 
that we never repeat the chaos of the past election. All of these 
demand careful review and the development of a bipartisan consensus for 
sound reform. This bill sets clear priorities and offers practical 
solutions that must be part of any final reform plan.
  I urge our colleagues to join us in this effort in backing H.R. 775.

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